Traveling salesman, like many people who have to travel on business, need to keep a timely record of their activities. Particularly for those salesman who work out of their cars, the custom is to return to the car and complete any records and make any necessary diary or log entries in appropriate papers. This may be done in a traditional notebook or, more recently, by entry in a laptop computer. In both cases, it is far easier for the salesman to complete his report if he has a desk-like surface in the car, conveniently located, on which to place his diary or computer. The difficulty has been in providing a suitable desk that is both convenient to use and that affords the necessary writing surface and stability.
A number of different types of automobile desks have been proposed, but all such desks known to applicant have had one of several problems. For example, various types of desks have been proposed for use in cars that would simply lie on top of the seat cushion next to the driver. Such desks may be unstable, and certainly are prone to sliding sideways or forward on the surface of the car seat as the car accelerates or changes direction. Other desks have been known which are permanently or semi-permanently attached to the car's interior by clamps and/or rigid rods and the like. While such desks are stable, they may be difficult to install and remove. Such desks are also generally suitable for installation in a particular car, and are an encumbrance to the driver who might wish to remove the desk from the car, either to take it with him to another location or to store the desk in the trunk of the car. Furthermore, if the rods or other means used to hold the desk in place extend to the floor, dashboard or transmission hump, they could be uncomfortable and inconvenient. Other automobile desks have been proposed to ride on the transmission hump itself or even to fit over or on the steering wheel, but desks that are secured in the interior of the car are generally unsuitable for use on any other human-adapted seating surface, such as the seats in a bus or a train or even upon a chair or sofa in the driver's home. All of these car desks are either insufficiently secure, difficult to install and/or remove or present an unwanted obstacle when the desk surface is not required.